Restraining device



March 25; 1958 J. F. THOMPSON RESTRAINING DEVICE Filed July 16, 19 56 JENCE F. THOMPSON INVENTOR,

RESTRAINING DEVICE Jence F. Thompson, Arlington, Wash.

Application July. 16, 1956, SerialNo. 598,108 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-134) This present device is of the general class of invention referred to as restraining devices, which have the general purpose of restraining the action. or activities of individuals, yet allowing them certain freedom of'movement which will not be counter to the main purpose of. the

restraint. This particular invention has for its principal purpose the provision of suitable means for holding an adult or child in, or at. least upon, a bed. The device is very simply constructed, to the end that it can be made cheaply, yet it permits a wide range of activity of the individual, and is particularly fitted" to use for hospital patients of all ages, and especially for children in the home.

Restraining devices have. been employed for along period, and naturally many different types, have been evolved. These range from the mere pinning of a child into its bed blankets up to the strait jacket which is employed for the violently insane. A large number of devices that have been put to use in the past have been studied, and they generally have the shortcoming of being complicated in form to the extent that they become expensive and, probably more objectionable, their very complication 'makes them difiicult to fit and adjust to the individual person or active child; and, lastly, the elaborate structures make them so expensive as to, in effect, price them beyond the range of the average. family, who could so well make use of them in' the restraint of young children.

The principal object of this present invention is to provide a simple form of restraining device, which permits the person being restrained to rollover in bed or to sit up in bed, and to, in general, do all the things he normally needs to do.

A further object of this present invention is to provide a restraining device adaptable for children or bed patients which, due to its simplicity of construction, is not only economical to make but it proves to be very easily adjusted to persons being restrained, to the end that persons quite inexperienced can easily adjust the equipment for both the security and the comfort of the person being restrained.

A further object of this invention is to provide a restraining device which may even be fitted by the persons using the same, and to thus give them a sense of security and actual protection so that they will overcome their fear of falling out of bed. This is achieved by a device that fits snugly, but still permits almost un-' restricted movement within the lateral margins of a conventional single bed.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the basic elements employed in my restraining device and illustrating a patient in dashed lines, to show the general manner in which the device is applied.

2 ited States Pat 2,827,398 Patented Mar. 25, 1958.

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is. provided with snaps as at 12 and14. I have illustrated a simple form of snap having a spring-pressed tongue, and this is sufiicient for all ordinary usage. However,

in the case of persons who may be inclined to act while asleep, as sleep-walkers are known to do, or in some cases persons who may be temporarily mentally disarranged, might then require a diiferent type of snap which could not be opened by the patient or individual,

or it might be solved by merely placing the snaps under the bed out of reach of the patient. characteristic of strap 10 is that it must be long enough to encircle the person using the same, once around the. abdomen, with sufficient ends so that the snaps may be. entirely off the upper surface of the bed at least. When.

made in these proportions, the patient of course can roll over halfway in either direction, as from lying on his back and changing to lying on his stomach, and the strap;

will unwind in one direction and wind up in the opposite,

so that under ideal conditions the patient hardly knows Thus he has a full range of move ment such as the average bed patient or sleeping infantv needs. The rolling action may be limited to one quarterturn, as from a back position to a side position, by adhe is under restraint.

justing strap 10 with a minimum of slack. This desirable adjustment may be conveniently achieved by having one of the D-ring straps 46 provided with a plurality of D-rings 48.

In order to insure that strap 10 will be maintained in the area of the abdomen and will not be below the normal waistline nor above the armpit area, I have provided what may be considered a jerkin or jacket 20. This unit should be made of firm material so that it. will generally hold the shape illustrated throughout the drawings and be provided with an opening at 22 sufficient for.

the purpose of slipping the device over the patients head and in that way give considerable freedom around the neck. For this purpose it is desirable that the opening be relatively long along the longitudinal axis of the device but have a width that is just comfortable on opposite sides of the neck, itbeingintended that the jacket mate rial Will permit of considerable distortion so that the device can easily he slipped over a patients or especially a childs head. The general form is similar to the abovethe-waist portion of apinafore apron. Reasonably Wide shoulder portions as 24 and 26 are provided in order to give body and substance to the jacket and make it possible to have the back portion 28 of considerable width. This, together with a substantial firmness or stiffness of material, will cause the device to continue to spread out and tend to stay with the individuals body and permit the strap 10 to move with respect to the front portion jacket arrangement. At its lower ends the back jacket member is tapered to its bottom and is stitched over the belt at 30, this being merely over a single run of the belt. Tunnel 30 should fit the belt closely and be relatively long so there will normally be no movement of the belt in the tunnel. The front, however, has a wide chest portion and is then sharply cut away on each side as at 32 and 34, so that the tunnel stitched into the bottom as 36 will have a length only a fraction of the chest width, as one-half or one-third of the same, and will encompass two runs of strap 10, and this should be free enough and The outstanding,

narrow enough so that the strap can, Without attention from the wearer, slip through the tunnel as the patient turns in his sleep or otherwise. Tunnel 36 can be used to limit the amount the person can roll, as, where a half-turn is made, the main strap is doubled back under the person, because of tunnel 36 and, unless sufiicient slack 'is provided in strap 10, the person will be limited in his rolling. 1

Referring to Figure 3, wherein a small section of a hospital bed has been shown, strap 10 terminates in the snaps 12 which are arranged'to engage rings or D-rings 40. For use with cooperative patients or children, the snaps may be within easy range; or, where it is necessary to provide greater security, rings 40 may be well under the bed, and they naturally can be positioned, if required, well beyond the reach of a child or adult who might try to free himself. One of the rings should have adjustable positioning means, to'the end that the device maybe made to fit individuals of different sizes.

By having the tunnel 30 reasonably snug to the belt and having tunnel 36 of sufficient size so that the belt or strap 10 can easily slide through the same, the positioning jacket 20 has little effect upon the movement of the patient or child. This characteristic is a very important one, in that it will not cause any feeling of being tied down or tend to'awaken the child or person during periods of sleep particularly. On the other hand, the mere fact that the loop 44 formed in belt 10 encircles the patient or child, if it is adjusted so that it is snug to the bodynot as tight as a waist belt, but approaching the sarncwill give a sense of security to the wearer. There are many persons, for instance, who have a phobia of falling off high places and who are often so afraid that it is reflected in their sleep, and especially when they get near the edge of a bed they have the feeling they are falling olf some high place and immediately are awakened in fright. This device has been found to allay any such fears and is therefore believed to be a very worthwhile, useful devicein the treatment of many maladies, particularly among mental patients.

It is particularly desirable to point out that this device is a very simple one, one that may be very economically manufactured, to the end that it may bewell within the purchase range of persons who would be benefited by it, and particulary, that it be readily available and no financial burden to parents of young children.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of restraining device.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A restraining device for persons of various ages, comprising: a main strap of sufficient length to encircle the torso of a person and extend to the opposite sides of a bed; releasable means adapted to secure the opposite ends of said main strap to opposite sides of a bed; an open-sided jerkin having a back portion, a front portion, and an elongated opening intermediate said portions adapted to pass over a persons head; said back portion folded over and snuggly but slidably secured around a single run of said main strap; and said front portion, being reduced in width at its lower edge, folded over and secured loosely around the main strap where it overlaps and provides two runs in a manner permitting the strap to slide freely through the fold.

2. A restraining device for persons of various ages, comprising: a main strap of suflicient length to completely encircle the torso of a person and extend to the opposite sides of 'a bed; separate anchor means adapted to be secured under a bed and providing a plurality of engagement members; releasable means adapted to secure the opposite ends of said main strap to said anchor means; an open-sided jerkin having a back portion, a front portion and shoulder portions, one on each side, joining said back and said front portions and providing an elongated opening adapted to pass over a persons head; said back portion folded over and secured around a single run of said main strap; and said front portion, being reduced in width at its lower edge, folded over and secured loosely around the main strap where it overlaps and provides two runs.

3. A restraining device for persons of various ages, comprising: a main strap of sufficient length to completely encircle the torso of a person and extend to the opposite sides of a bed; releasable means adapted to secure the opposite ends of said main strap to opposite sides of a bed; an open-sided jerkin made of firm material having a back portion of extended width and tapering to its bottom portion; a front portion having a wide chest portion and a bottom that is reduced in length to a fraction of the chest width; shoulder portions, one on each side, joining said back and said front portions and forming an elongated opening adapted to pass over a persons head; said back portion folded over and slidably secured around a single run of said main strap; and said front portion being reduced in width at its lower edge, folded over and secured loosely around the main strap where it overlaps and provides two runs in a manner permitting the strap to slide freely through the fold.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fitzpatrick Sept. 21, 

